1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for carrying a child, and more particularly concerns a device for carrying a child in seated position upon the shoulders of an adult.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous devices have earlier been described whereby children can be carried by a large person such as a parent or other adult. One type of carrier is designed to carry the child papoose-style on the back of the adult, employing devices similar to camper's backpacks. The papoose-style carriers are well suited for carrying infants for relatively long periods of time. However, in the case of somewhat older children who have recently earned to walk, but tire quickly and must be carried for relatively short periods, shoulder-mounted carrier seats are preferably.
Shoulder-mounted seats for infants, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,484,700; 4,416,403 and elsewhere, are designed to enable the child to be seated upon the shoulders of the adult with his legs straddling the adult's head and extending downwardly upon the chest region of the adult. Such seats are generally constructed as collapsible structures amenable to easy carrying when not in use. However, despite their reduced size in the collapsed state, they are still considerably bulky and of significant weight. Although cushioning materials can be employed with such shoulder seats to provide greater comfort to the adult and child, further improvement in comfort during use is highly desirable.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a shoulder-mounted carrying seat for infants that is of light weight.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a carrying seat as in the foregoing object which is collapsible to a storage state that occupies little volume.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a carrying seat of the aforesaid nature which provides improved comfort to the child and adult.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a carrying seat of the aforesaid nature which is easily deployed for use from a compact storage state, and is of simple construction amenable to low cost manufacture.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.